Md. Akhtaruzzaman :
We are deeply concerned to learn that a woman civil servant working as an Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) at Ghoraghat upazila under the district of Dinajpurhas, along with her father, been attacked ruthlessly at her official residence by some miscreants. Such incidents are not unknown here in Bangladesh. Directed by monstrous, untouchable and powerful gangs, they are all too common.
A great number of like occurrences could be mentioned – just a few days, a sub-assistant engineer of Public Works Department (PWD) in Rajshahi was attacked in his department office and his premises were vandalized by a contractor and his associate because of a complaint about poor construction quality. We become outraged enough when we see that the entire world with all its might and devotion is fighting against the corona pandemic and doctors are playing the roles of frontline fighters, but, at the same time, a doctor is attacked by some heady relatives of a deceased patient and beaten to death in Khulna – as happened on June 16th this year.
There are numerous examples in this country where teachers, the architects of the nation, being assaulted by rowdy politically-influenced students on campus in broad daylight, or killed by terrorists for deterring copying in examination halls. Others could be cited. The mentioned incidents and like these have been happening for ages and effective measures have hardly been taken. As impunity encourages the corrupt to commit crimes, this kind of offence is increasing. If it had been possible to make any example against these types of misdeeds, further incidents would not have occurred. Since we have not been able to do so, public organizations are being enfeebled and common people have become frustrated, thinking that law enforcement authorities themselves are helpless to face the troublemakers.
The success of a country mainly depends on the activities of its executive branch and the responsibilities of this branch are growing day-by-day in the modern political system. This organ of state is able to execute its functions properly provided that coordination, mutual understanding and respect, reconciliation, and so on, are ensured among various departments and the officials of it. However, it is a matter of great regret that the harsh reality of Bangladesh is completely different. For some unavoidable circumstances, relations among various departments and their high-ups have been suffering from misgivings, misunderstandings, a lack of confidence, absence of mutual respect and so on. Apart from this, corruption, illegal influence of various external powers on public institutions, non-appearance of good governance and the failure of national integrity strategy policy mean that questions need to be asked of various public organizations. As a result, negative public perceptions about the executive body of government are increasing.
It is high time we needed to think densely about this issue by taking timely and proven measures: the last thing we wish for is the state’s institutions deteriorating irretrievably. Securing exemplary punishment by bringing to book the notorious culprits is necessary if we are to avoid further assaults. Likewise, some pragmatic steps should be taken to ensure permanent safety in this regard. This should secure not only the future of public officials but also the fortune of the state. First of all, we have to identify the roots and reasons for the weakness of public administration, the origins of decaying mutual respect and trust among public officials. Only then will it be possible to manage the situation effectively. If it is possible to make a strong effort among public servants ensuring their due respect along with confirming the transparency and accountability, it will also be possible to establish an exuberant, prolific Bangladesh. Once public administration is empowered making sure its integrity, rule of law must be guaranteed. Consequently, corruption in both the public and private sectors will be removed and trends such as the coining of illegal money, including laundering hundreds of thousands crore take abroad will be stopped. Without delay, we should go forward.
(Mr. Akhtaruzzaman is a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (General Education), Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Satkhira Government Mohila College, and Phd researcher under the Department of Government and Politics, JU. E-mail: [email protected])
